Tell us OnceReport a death and tell multiple agencies at the same time.

What is ‘Tell Us Once’

When someone dies, it can be a stressful and upsetting time. As well as coping with the emotional distress that a death may bring, you will need to notify a number of different government departments and organisations. These could include adult services, income support, libraries, driver and vehicle licensing agencies and passport services for example.

In Fylde, a service called ‘Tell Us Once’ is available which makes it easier for you to do this.

Tell Us Once reduces the amount of time you need to spend contacting these government departments and organisations because you provide all the information at a single point of contact.

How does it work?

First the death needs to be registered and a death certificate issued. The registrar will provide you with a reference number which is needed to complete the Tell Us Once.

Once the death has been registered you then need to contact us so we can take some details and let everyone else know to save you having to contact them.

By telephone – If you would like to speak to someone on the phone, please call the Department for Work and Pensions on 0800 085 7308. The lines are open Monday to Friday between 8am and 8pm. This number is free to call from a BT landline, but other providers, including mobile phone providers, may charge you. If you don’t speak English, call us on 0800 085 7308 and one of our advisers and an interpreter will call you back.

In person – If you would like to come and talk to an advisor visit the Town Hall, St Annes Road West, St Annes, Lancashire FY8 1LW. Our offices are open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 08:30 to 17:00, Wednesday and Friday 08:30 to 16:30.

Information you will need to use the service

We want to make sure we give the right information to any organisations we contact. So we will need the following information about the person who has died:

their National Insurance number and date of birth

details of any benefits or services they were receiving

their death certificate

We may also ask you for information about:

their next of kin

any surviving husband, wife or civil partner

anybody who is getting Child Benefit on their behalf

the person dealing with their estate

You must obtain the agreement of the persons listed above if you are going to provide us with information about them.

How we will treat the information you give us

We will treat all the information you give us securely. The organisations we give your information to will use it to update records; to end services, benefits and entitlements as appropriate; and to resolve any outstanding issues. They may use the information we give them in other ways, but only as the law allows.

Next of kin

If you are the next of kin you may be entitled to an increase in benefits, so please have your National Insurance number to hand when you contact us.

If you are not the next of kin, or the person who is dealing with the estate of the deceased, you can still use the service if you have the authority to act on their behalf.

Please remember that is still your responsibility to make sure any organisation that pays you a benefit has correct and up-to date information.